Rapunzel: A Retelling
by Orchestrated Insanity
Summary: A Harry Potter version of a Well-loved Fairy Tale.


**AN-This is my first story on ! Whoot! Anyways, this is for Romi Lawliet's Ever After: The Fairy Tale Challenge. The story was Rapunzel, and the prompts were Hurricane, Drowsy, and Pure.**

It wasn't easy to see that Andromeda Black didn't fit with her family, that it was as if she'd been stolen as an infant and dropped into this prison of a family. She never had as much distain for the half-bloods and Muggleborns as her sister Bellatrix, though she did her best to hide it from the fanatics that made up her family. Andromeda was nothing if not an excellent actress.

When she first began to notice Ted Tonks, in fifth year, the only thing she saw was that he looked as though a hurricane had dressed him. His tie was always hanging loose, his blonde hair, in need of a trim, piled atop his head like a haystack, his robes and trousers rumpled. _Just another dull Hufflepuff, _she often thought to herself as she watched him in Charms. But as the school year passed, and Professor Flitwick sent her to be tutored by this Muggleborn, she began to realize there was more to her hurricane boy.

He was kind and friendly, as were most members of Helga's House, but there was a spark of mischief in his green eyes that always appeared right before he said something to tease her. He referred to her as "Your Majesty" a joking taunt about her sisters' attitude towards those of lower "blood status". In return, she called him a "manner-less badger". And somewhere in the jokes and teases, they fell into like and, eventually, love.

But as in all fairy tales, there is an evil witch to be reckoned with. At the end of their sixth year, as they walked hand in hand down a disused passageway, Bellatrix came upon them and fell into a rage. Grabbing Andromeda by the hair, she cursed Ted before dragging her sister away, hissing and spitting about blood-traitors and family honor.

The summer was the worst of Andromeda's life. She was locked in her room, with no access to mail or Floo network, nothing to let her know if Ted was alright, if he had recovered from the curse.

And for Ted, it was a summer of pain and heartache. Bellatrix had used an old curse on him, one that had struck him blind. He wore a bandage wrapped around his face, holding the poultices and potions St. Mungo's were dosing him with against his damaged eyes. He wandered the downstairs of his home aimlessly, sometimes sitting out on the front porch rocker, listening to the wizarding radio speak of war and wondering if he'd ever see Andromeda again, hoping she wasn't lost to him forever.

When the fall came, Andromeda's parents sent her back to Hogwarts with strict warnings not to speak to or associate with the "Mudblood filth." She consented softly, bowing her head to avoid their eyes, knowing that even though Bellatrix was gone, Narcissa was watching closely. Her sweet little Cissy turned into a spy for their parents and all because of her!

The first weeks of the school year were torture for Andromeda. She only saw Ted in Charms, and she couldn't even communicate with him. There were too many Slytherins watching for her to speak with him, and with his eyes still swollen mostly shut, he wouldn't be able to read any notes she could pass. This frustrated the both of them; it was as if a wall of thorns was growing between them and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

But then a minor miracle occurred at Christmas, shocking them both. Professor Flitwick, mild-mannered little man though he was, gave them each a detention, citing them separately and arranging for the two to come and serve their sentence at eight that night. Once there, he told them to say what they needed in peace and left the classroom for his office next door.

"Oh Ted, I'm so sorry this happened to you." Andromeda whispered, tears welling in her eyes. She stepped towards him, the two meeting in a close hug. A single tear slipped from each of her eyes, trailing down cheeks and falling to land against his eyelids. Sparks glistened suddenly in the air, a buzz of old magic tracing through them.

"Dromeda, I can see you." Ted chuckled, brushing a hand across eyes that were already beginning to lose their swollen red look, "It's the magic. Your sister's curse; it can only be fully reversed by the tears!"

The two laughed together, hugging tightly and grinning.

"Marry me Dromeda." Ted eventually whispered, looking at her with a soft smile, "Come and run away with me."

"Ted, I…what of my family? I couldn't bear it if they were to hurt you again. My family isn't pure, Ted Tonks, and neither am I."

"And that's what I love about you, Andromeda Black. Your family's purity doesn't matter to me. I fell in love with you, not your family."

And so they did. The hurricane boy and the not-so-pure girl escaped the eyes of the Blacks, sneaking away under cover of darkness as soon as the N.E.W.T.s were over. They were married in a Muggle courthouse, with Ted's parents and Professor Flitwick as witnesses. And afterwards, as they moved into the little cottage left to Ted by his great-grandfather, lying together by the fire, he looked at her with a drowsy grin and murmured to her, telling her fairy tales that she'd never heard before, fairy tales much like their own.

**_Fin_**


End file.
